Publications by authors named "Arjan Rudolphus"
Background: Antibiotics do not reduce mortality or short-term treatment non-response in patients receiving treatment for acute exacerbations of COPD in an outpatient setting. However, the long-term effects of antibiotics are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate if the antibiotic doxycycline added to the oral corticosteroid prednisolone prolongs time to next exacerbation in patients with COPD receiving treatment for an exacerbation in the outpatient setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To compare the effects of an outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program on exercise tolerance and asthma control in obese and nonobese patients with asthma.
Methods: Nonobese (body mass index [BMI] <30 kg/m) and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m) patients with asthma who participated in a local multidisciplinary 12-week PR program were analyzed retrospectively. Effects of PR were assessed by changes in 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) and Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ).
Background: The pathogenesis of asthma in obese subjects is poorly understood and has been described as a specific phenotype in these patients. Weight loss improves asthma control and lung function. Whether this improvement is the result of better mechanical properties of the airways or decreased systemic and bronchial inflammation remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Obesity and asthma are associated. There is a relationship between lung function impairment and the metabolic syndrome. Whether this relationship also exists in the morbidly obese patients is still unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUtility of nitric oxide for the diagnosis of asthma in an allergy clinic population.
Allergy Asthma Proc
September 2011
Fractionated exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) expression is increased in airway inflammation and several studies have suggested that FeNO measurement can be useful in patients with asthma. Atopic individuals have increased FeNO levels, indicating that atopy may be a codeterminant in FeNO production. The aim of this study was to determine the discriminative value of FeNO for asthma and other atopic conditions in the general allergy clinic.
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- A study explored the link between psychological factors, like negative emotions and beliefs about exercise, and exercise performance in COPD patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation.
- Results showed that younger age, male gender, better lung function, and fewer concerns about exercise were associated with better 6-minute walk test results.
- It was found that patients’ concerns about exercise negatively affected their treatment outcomes, suggesting that addressing these concerns during the initial assessment could improve rehabilitation effectiveness.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how illness perceptions change over time for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during a pulmonary rehabilitation program, using Leventhal's common-sense model (CSM) as a framework.
- It involved 87 COPD patients completing the Illness Perception Questionnaire - Revised (IPQ-R) before and after rehabilitation while also tracking clinical variables and quality of life.
- Results indicated that, post-rehabilitation, patients who felt they achieved desired outcomes were less worried about COPD's negative impacts and had a more positive view of their illness, supporting the idea that coping with illness is an ongoing process.
Article Synopsis
- A study explored reasons for drop-out and non-attendance in a 12-week pulmonary rehabilitation program for COPD patients, revealing significant attendance issues despite overall high adherence.
- Of the 217 patients, 23% dropped out, primarily due to medical reasons, with smoking, living alone, and low confidence in treatment identified as attendance factors.
- The findings suggest that addressing patients' nutritional status and fostering positive treatment expectations could help improve attendance rates in rehabilitation programs.
Objective: We recently noticed that proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use was high on a pulmonary medicine ward of a university clinic and reasons for this high usage were not clear. Our aim was to determine the indications for PPI use on two pulmonary medicine wards and to assess whether this use was appropriate.
Methods: We assessed prospectively the number of patients on PPIs and the indications for PPI use on two pulmonary medicine wards, one from a university and one from a regional clinic in The Netherlands.
Common complications of thoracic radiotherapy include esophagitis and radiation pneumonitis. However, it is important to be aware of uncommon post-radiotherapy complications such as bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP). We report on two patients with carcinoma of the breast who developed an interstitial lung disease consistent with BOOP.
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